55. 



Chapter IX. 



SNAKES IN CAPTIVITY. 



Those who are desirous of keeping a serpent- 

 arium of live snakes should study as much as 

 possible the conditions under which the various 

 snakes live when in their wild state. 



The boxes they are kept in should be roomy, The Cages, 

 and with sand or pebble-covered floors, in which 

 small holes have been bored, to permit of drainage. 

 The sides should be of glass, though in the case of 

 large snakes wire netting may be used. The roof 

 should be made of perforated zinc when the boxes 

 have glass sides. The bottom of the cage-door 

 ought to be on a level with the floor of the cage, 

 as it will considerably facilitate the cleaning of the 

 latter. A pan containing water is necessary, and 

 should be fastened rather high up, as if it is on the 

 floor of the cage the snake is likely to spill it, turn 

 his sand into mud, and by crawling up the inside 

 of the glass make the latter dim and dirty, the 

 cleaning of which, without getting bitten, is a 

 difficult process. If the vessel containing the water 

 is arranged so that it can be raised or lowered by 

 strings passing through the roof of the cage, it will 

 make the renewal of water considerably easier. 



Rocks should be placed in all the boxes, to 

 assist in the removal of the skin, when skin- 

 shedding time approaches (often as frequently as 

 once a month), and when tree-snakes are kept, 

 shrubs are necessary. 



It should be remembered that the three things 

 that snakes prmcipally require are 



(i) Air, (2) Warmth, (3) Water, 



